Young Love
by BoomShroom
Summary: When Bowser Jr.'s rule over the playground is threatened, he is challenged by a rival. But when he finds out that his opponent is a girl, he falls in love at first sight. She challenges him to go on a date with her, and whoever enjoys it more, loses, the winner taking the playground. Jr. turns to his siblings for help, but will their different views of love hinder him?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! This is a new story that I came up with recently. It was originally supposed to be a oneshot, but it was too long, so it will most likely only be two or three chapters long. Anyways, please enjoy the story!**

Young Love

Bowser Jr. hated the local playground. It was full of snotty little kids who ran around screaming their heads off and doing stupid things. None of them were anywhere near his status, a prince of the royal Koopa family, the heir to the throne! Yes, he looked down upon them, for they were inferior to him. In fact, the only reason he was there at all was to flaunt his superiority and make them feel like the lesser beings they were. The grownups called it 'bullying', but he called it 'putting peasants in their place'.

Actually, one should probably say that Jr. 'had' hated the playground. When he had first laid eyes upon it, it was a wasteland of hooligans and anarchists who called running amok and hurting themselves and others 'fun'. He had shook his head in disgust and vowed to cleanse the detestable place of everything he disliked. He had declared his power over the kids who inhabited the area and immediately proceeded to claim the land as his own. He got rid of the swing sets, slides, and jungle gym, replacing them with his own personalized play sets, which were basically the same, just with a more intimidating, impressive, and all around cooler appearance. Gaining followers had been simple. He rewarded those who swore eternal loyalty to him with candy, and threatened all of the others. They followed his every command without question, either too dumb to think for themselves or too terrified of him to fight back. The parents were a problem at first, but the matter was quickly settled when Jr. had asked Iggy to build him droids that could knock the adults unconscious with a chemical spray, erasing any memory of them opposing Jr.'s rule over the playground. It worked quite well, and when Jr. had asked Iggy what was in the chemical, his brother simply snickered. It didn't really matter what the ingredients were, though. As long as it worked.

Yes, it had been almost too easy to conquer the area, and when he had told his father of his achievement, he was praised and rewarded greatly.

Since then, the playground was no longer a playground, but Jr.'s small dictatorship. No one opposed his rule, and he was free to do as he pleased.

He strolled in through the spiky front gate, inhaling the sweet smell of fear and evil that he instilled upon the place. He glanced this way and that, nodding and smiling to himself when he saw that all was in order.

Or, mostly in order.

He climbed the ladder of the large tower on the north end of the playground. When he reached the top, he saw his second in command, Hammerabi, a young Hammer Bro., looking through a plastic telescope, observing the other end of the playground.

"Hammerabi," he said stoically, imagining himself speaking in his father's booming voice. "How go the war efforts?"

Hammerabi slid the telescope into his pocket and turned to his commanding officer, a triumphant smile upon his face. "All is quiet on every front, sir. It seems that the rebels are close to breaking."

Jr. nodded, pleased.

Though he had taken over the playground quite some time ago, some revolutionary had stumbled across the playground and observed the miserable state that the children were in. He had managed to turn some of his followers against him, creating a small group of rebels who fought to liberate the playground from Jr.s' tyranny. Though they fought valiantly, they were no match for Jr.'s numbers and firepower. Even now, Jr. watched as his soldiers rounded up captured rebels and confiscated their weapons, which were anything from water guns to foam swords.

He grinned mischievously and popped a candy he had stolen from Lemmy in his mouth, treating himself after this recent victory.

A Shy Guy climbed the ladder and saluted to Jr.

"At ease." he commanded, and the Shy Guy handed him a note. He stared at it, confusion on his face. "What is this?"

The Shy Guy shrugged. "Dunno. Some message from the Rebels, sir." she said.

Jr. opened the note and concentrated on reading it. He wasn't used to cursive, and it took him quite some time before he was able to decipher what the thin, curly lines were saying.

"'You may be winning, but you will never take our spirit. Even if I fall, another will take my place, and another will take theirs, until someone will finally defeat you. To prevent anymore violence, we wish to hold a meeting with you to discuss matters of peace and compromise (that word means to mutually agree on terms that will satisfy both sides, not that you get everything you want.) We expect you to show up at the picnic tables, 12:30 sharp.

Your foe, leader of the Rebels,

Sam.'"

Jr. growled and crumpled the paper up. Sam had just mocked him! As if he didn't know what compromise meant!...well, now he did...

He loathed this Sam. He had never seen the boy, but he was apparently highly respected among his traitorous followers. No matter how many tickle tortures he put his prisoners through, they never ratted Sam out.

"Whoever this Sam is," Jr. grumbled, tossing the paper to the ground. "He writes like a girl!"

"What should we do, sir?"

Jr. thought hard. It could be a trap.

"I'll go." he said slowly. "But I want guards to come along with me. And position some Soakers in the bushes around the place, just in case they get any ideas."

With that, the Shy Guy saluted once more and ran off to carry out his orders. Jr. turned back to the now still battlefield, watching the figures of rebels on the other side.

7Z7Z7Z7

Jr. was extremely cautious. He wasn't very smart, but when it came to matters of leadership and conquering, he had learned everything he could from his father, and then some. Except, unlike his father, he actually planned to succeed.

He had four guards around him, long foam swords in their hands. In the bushes, almost undetectable, were Soakers, children lying prone with their water rifles trained on the table in case Sam made a wrong move.

Jr. sat on one end and stared at the Rebels standing away from the table on the other side, intimidating them with his stink eye. He waited for minutes until he finally exclaimed, "Where is Sam? He's late!"

"I'm here." a voice said. "And I'm no 'he'."

Bowser Jr. turned to where the voice was coming from, and his jaw dropped at the sight of the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen.

She was a Koopaling, like him, but a bit bigger and she had light red skin. Her eyes were bright blue and her blond hair was tied in a pony tail. Her shell was yellow with brighter yellow bumps on it, and she wore a large gold band on each of her wrists.

"So this is Sam, huh?" Hammerrabi muttered next to him. "Pssh! She's just an icky girl!"

"Yeah." a Goomba guard agreed. "I bet she has cooties."

"Bowser Jr." she said formally, taking a seat across from him. Her expression was all serious, not the demeanor of a regular, playful child.

Jr. stuttered, still struck dumb. "Uhwubba-weeba-wooba-wah?"

Everyone looked at him in confusion.

"Um...Bowser Jr., sir? Are you feeling all right?" Hammerrabi asked.

"Don't worry." Sam said. "This won't take long."

She leaned forward, her hands intertwined, and Jr. felt his heart thump faster as her eyes stared into his. He wasn't used to this feeling, and like anything new and strange, he wanted it to stop.

"It is clear that you are on the verge of winning this war. I'm sure that if you do, your first declaration would be to banish me from the playground, preventing me from starting another uprising. But that will do you no good. These people are determined to achieve freedom, and more will rise to take my place. Your defenses will weaken, and you will-okay, seriously, are you okay?"

Bowser Jr. was drooling slightly and there was a far off look in his eyes.

"Um..." Hammerrabi said, snapping his fingers in front his leader's face multiple times. "Yeah, he should be fine."

"Are you sure? Because I was sort of in the middle of something, and I don't want him zoning out on me."

Jr. slumped to the side, and Hammerrabi quickly pushed him upright again, a nervous smile on his face. "Y-yeah. Just go ahead."

She rolled her eyes, but continued anyway. "Basically, in order to end this quickly, I have a challenge of sorts for you to accept. If you win, you can keep your kingdom...for a while. But if I win, you must relinquish your position at once."

She waited for him to nod, but when he did nothing but stare blankly into space she continued. "All you need to do is go on a date with me. Whoever enjoys it most, loses."

At the mention of the word 'date' there were several 'eew's, dozens of 'gross's, and a thump as Jr. toppled off of his seat, now completely unconscious.

"So? Do you accept?"

Hammerrabi tried lifting Jr. back onto his seat, but when he couldn't, he spoke to Sam instead. "Why would we accept your challenge when we can easily crush you?"

She smirked. "What? Are you scared your big, bad leader might lose?" she said in a mocking tone.

Hammerrabi glowered at her. "No way! We accept! Prince Bowser Jr. doesn't back down to any challenge!"

Sam smiled, a plan already formulating in her head. "Very well, then. The date will take place this Saturday. I expect him to meet me here at 8:00 sharp. If he's late, he forfeits. My time is precious."

Sam rose from her seat and began to walk away. She briefly stopped and stared at Jr.'s unconscious form on the ground.

"Good luck." With that, she disappeared to her own side again.

Jr. groaned as he sat up, clenching his throbbing head. "What...what happened?"

"You got a date, sir dude." Hammerrabi replied, shivering in disgust at the word. He still believed that all females were infected with the incurable disease known as cooties.

"A...date?"

"Yeah. With Sam, that Koopaling girl."

At those words, Jr.'s small heart fluttered and he passed out once more.

7Z7Z7Z7

Jr.'s seven siblings were all gathered in the living room, participating in their own separate activities.

Roy sighed and continued beating up the punching bag before him, soon tossing it into a pile of smashed and unusable bags that he had gone through in just that hour. "I love this quality family time, don't you guys?"

Nobody responded to his sarcastic comment.

Larry hung up the phone and turned to his brothers and sister. "Dad's still in the hospital getting his flame pipe fixed, so he said that we gotta make ourselves dinner tonight. Of course, that means that Wendy will cook."

They shrugged at his announcement, not objecting to allowing the only decent cook among them make their dinner.

"Also, he said that I'm in charge. So as my first order of business-"

"Stop right there, Larry." Ludwig said, tossing another brain teaser aside, adding to the mountain of complex riddles that, to him, were quite trivial, and had only barely staved off boredom on such an uninteresting afternoon. "We all know that no one, especially King Dad, would leave you in charge of anything. That means that I will take charge."

"Fine." his blue haired brother groaned, flopping back onto the couch and staring at the ceiling.

"Man, I am SO BOOOOREEEED." he moaned, bashing his face into a pillow. "There is NOTHING to do today!"

"On the contrary, there are too many things to do today!" Iggy exclaimed, tinkering with a tiny robot. Larry was surprised when his brother suddenly vanished and reappeared on the other side of the room, this time drawing out a blueprint.

"What the-? What was that? And I feel all dizzy, suddenly..."

"Oh, that? That was just the passing of the Iggy Hour." he said matter-of-factly.

"The what now?"

Iggy sighed and turned towards him, impatient. "The Iggy Hour? The twenty fifth hour of the day? Did I ever tell you about my Time-Addificationer? Long story short, too many projects, not enough time. Solution? Another hour of the day where everything else freezes and I can work in peace without you meddling monkeys bothering me. Side effects may include vomiting, headaches, diarrhea, hallucinations, dizziness, and rifts in space, time, and dimensions." he said hastily, giving infomercial narrators a run for their money. "Which reminds me: Larry, when is your birthday?"

"June seventh. Why?"

"Oh, no reason." he said, and muttered to himself, "Can't be too sure if the aliens from Dimension Nine snuck in here and stole one of your bodies..."

Larry shook his head and returned to doing nothing. He had long since given up on keeping up with Iggy's crazy inventions.

Suddenly, the doors burst open and the seven Koopalings turned to see their youngest brother, Bowser Jr., dash into the room, nearly tripping over himself in his haste.

"Whoa, slow down, kid!" Roy said, catching his brother before he could run head first into a wall. "What's got you all riled up?"

By this point, the others had gathered around, curious and too bored to do anything else.

Jr. panted and sat on the floor. "Sam...challenge...date...win..." he wheezed, trying to catch his breath.

"What? You gotta speak up, man!" Morton said.

Jr. coughed a bit and looked up at his siblings, rupturing them with an expression of utter helplessness. "Sam, the bully who was trying to lead a revolt against my playground campaign, challenged me to go on a date with her! She said that whoever enjoys it more loses, and if I don't win, she's gonna take the playground from me!"

From the way he had said it, his siblings thought that Jr. was truly worried about losing his mini kingdom. But Jr. didn't really care about that. He genuinely wanted to impress Sam on the date, and, frightfully, he had no idea why.

Whatever light, giddy emotions were working their meddlesome magic within him were clearly working, but Jr. didn't understand what he was feeling, and he wanted nothing more than for it to cease. She was his enemy, he should hate her. But he felt light when he imagined her smiling, and even lighter when he imagined himself with her, sharing wonderful moments. He had practically felt like he was drifting on air when he had spoken with her...well, if you could call his brain dead gibberish speech. He felt intrigued by her, most of all. He didn't know much about her, and he wanted to find out more. What makes her laugh? What makes her smile? Finding the answers to these questions would have been absolutely pointless for anyone else, but when it came to Sam, Jr. was obsessed, the questions buzzing in his mind and pestering him like a hoard of Fuzzies after drinking too much coffee.

"Well, that is something we cannot allow." Ludwig declared. "Gentlemen...and lady, I feel thy it is our duty to assist our youngest brother in defending the land that he conquered. And since we have nothing else to do, it is perfect for us."

"Speak for yourself, Bucky." Iggy said, calling Ludwig one of his most irritating names. "I've got way too much to do! But I'll find some way to help out, don't you worry your silly little liver!" With that, Iggy paraded out of the room, carrying his many gadgets, doodads, and thing-a-majigs with him.

Lemmy shrugged and turned to his younger brother. "Ok, first thing you gotta do: give her lots of candy!"

"Why?"

"'Cuz EVERYONE loves candy!" he shrieked happily, stuffing various sweets into his own mouth as he did so. Then he shoved a pile of sweets into Jr.'s arms.

"Don't mind him, Jr." Wendy said, turning him around and guiding him out the door. "What a girl truly looks for is how handsome a boy is. I'll be sure to make you look so irresistible that she'll practically melt at the sight of you!"

The other Koopalings followed, intrigued and just a bit skeptical.

7Z7Z7Z7

Eventually, they ended up in Wendy's third room, one of the eight she had in the castle. The first one was her own bedroom, but the others were dedicated exclusively to her passions, which either had multitudes of makeup stowed like treasure in a room or racks of clothes neatly organized in rows in another. The third room was a room filled with male clothes. Wendy hated being the only female in the castle, so she had vowed to provide her brothers with stylish clothes if they were ever fortunate enough to start a relationship with a girl (Wendy was a firm believer that style and appearance was at least seventy percent of a relationship). Then she could visit all the time and Wendy would FINALLY have another female to talk to! Of course, her brothers never really wore clothes, except on special occasions, so Wendy had never gotten the chance to put the room to use. Until now.

When she flung open the door and led her brothers inside, they gaped at the clothes inside.

From wall to wall, there were dozens upon dozens of racks, piles, and stacks of men's clothing. Wendy hadn't been sure when (or if) one of her brothers would start dating, so she had put all sorts of different sizes and styles in the room.

"Now, we'll start over in this section and make our way down the room." Wendy planned. "I'm sure there will be something in here that will look good on you."

Wendy fit her brother into all sorts of clothes. Formal, casual, REALLY casual. None of them seemed to look right on him, though.

"Oh! Over here!" Roy bellowed. He was pointing to a certain outfit hanging on the wall. It was a black, leather jacket with a pair of ripped jeans. The belt was simply a chain that wrapped around the waist and a pair of dark black sunglasses hung next to the outfit.

"I don't know." Larry said. "I'm not sure if that's the right thing for a date. Are you sure?"

"Totally." Roy said. "Don't these shades just scream, 'cool'?"

"Roy, once again, your intellect astounds me." Ludwig said sarcastically. "Jr. here is going on a date. Clearly, he is going to take the lucky lady to a most refined place. THAT is not refined. Might I suggest something more appropriate, such as this?"

He held his hands out to another outfit, not far from Roy's suggestion. It consisted of a black tuxedo, black pants, and a formal looking tie. It appeared to be extremely expensive.

"And who says our little bro is gonna go to some fancy-schmancy place, huh? Their not gonna do something boring like that! Obviously, the only way she'll be impressed and give in is for our bro to give her a wild ride! I'm thinking more along the lines of a high speed, motorcycle joyride through the city!"

"Nonsense! Women are more attracted to men with refined tastes, not ruffians who run rampant with wild abandon! Surely, she'll enjoy formal dinner more, or a trip to the local art museum."

"Boring! Your ideas stink!" He then turned to Jr. "Let me tell you a little something, kid. You gotta go with my ideas, 'cuz unlike this killjoy, I'll actually help you win!"

Ludwig growled at his comment, but Jr. was interested. "What ideas do you have?"

"Well, if the media has taught me two things, it's that A: Girls like a tough, bad boy, and B: Girls like expensive stuff. The pricier, the better."

Jr. nodded and pulled out his coloring book, making notes in the margins beside a half colored clown face.

Ludwig groaned, fed up with Roy's ideas. "Jr., don't listen to this moron. Come. I will teach you things that will benefit you more than this hooligan's detrimental suggestions."

With that, the party was off once more, this time to Ludwig's chambers.

7Z7Z7Z7

Ludwig's room was just about what Jr. expected.

It was well organized, but diverse. One part was devoted to music, with many instruments and music sheets laid out in an orderly fashion. Another end had complex mathematics scrawled across a chalkboard in elegant hand writing. A desk sat in a corner, a quill dipped in ink ready to write another one of Ludwig's pieces of literature. Ludwig wasn't much into building things like Iggy did, but he still dabbled in science, so there was a section reserved for science equipment like beakers, flasks, and test tubes. Why, Ludwig would even collaborate with Iggy occasionally in order to create some of the most amazing (and terrifying) machines the world had ever seen.

"Now," Ludwig said, leading them to a gigantic organ at the end of the room. "I will teach you how to play an instrument, something I have LONGED to do for one of my younger siblings, but have never been able to."

Morton protested. "Nu-uh! I know how to play the guitar!"

"ELECTRIC guitar. And that is not the kind of instrument I had in mind."

Jr. sat on the stool in front of the organ, glancing up at the huge pipes that towered above him. He hated it when Ludwig played his stupid classical music, and he hated the organ and its blaring, deep sound waves that resounded off the walls of the castle and swirled in his head, always giving him a headache. But if it would help him win Sam, he was willing to learn how to play the dreadful thing.

Ludwig instructed him on what keys made what noise. He had him play a simple piece, but when Jr. failed (many times) to successfully play it, they moved on to other instruments. Jr. tried the violin, the piano, the flute, and many more, but he could not muster a single ounce of musical talent, and failed miserably at producing a decent tune out of any instrument.

"Stop, stop, stop, STOP!" Ludwig bellowed, snatching the viola that was emitting a terrible screeching sound from his hands. "Obviously, music is not your forte. We should move onto something different."

"Hopefully one that doesn't put any kind of instrument in his hands." Larry whined, holding his assaulted ears.

The group walked down to the dining area, Ludwig explaining the next lesson on the way.

"While on your date, you may be placed in the position of ordering a meal, most likely from a, as our dear brother Roy would say, 'fancy-schmacy' restaurant. You must know proper etiquette while dining and refrain from behaving in your usual manner, loud and whiney."

By the end of his sentence, they reached the dining hall. The massive, rectangular table was resting in the middle of the room and the party moved towards it.

"Now," Ludwig said. "We shall run through a practice date. The first time, I will give you no instructions and see what you do. That way, it will be more efficient to see what you must work on instead of explaining everything to you. We shall begin. Pretend that I am Sam."

With that, he ceased giving Jr. instructions and waited for him to make his move.

Jr. feeling ever nervous as time passed on, pondered what exactly he should do. He decided to sit at the table, and he waited for Ludwig to do the same.

Ludwig said nothing, only moved towards the seat across from him and sat down, furrowing his brow a bit as Jr.'s action. Instantly, the young Koopaling feared he had done something wrong.

Ludwig turned to Morton and motioned him closer. "Waiter, I believe we require menus."

Morton, who hadn't really been paying attention, spacing out as he followed his siblings, was confused and looked around, hoping Ludwig was addressing someone other than him. "You mean m-me?"

"Yes, good sir. Please, if you don't mind fetching us some menus..."

When Morton did nothing, Ludwig sighed and pointed to the other end of the table. Two sheets of paper with words on them sat there. Morton hastily grabbed them and gave one to each of his brothers. Jr. stared at it, befuddled by the strange things the 'restaurant' had to offer. Salisbury steak? Pasta carbonara? What the heck were these things?

"Um, I have a question." Jr. said, raising his hand.

Ludwig glared at him, and Jr. decided to stay quiet.

"You, uh, ready to order?" Morton asked awkwardly.

"Yes. I would like to have the Salisbury steak, medium-well, please. As for my drink, a glass of water would suffice."

Morton nodded and turned to Jr. "And you?"

"Forget it! I can't do it!" Jr. screamed, frustrated. He got up from the table and strode to the doors, making his way out of the room.

"Jr.!" Ludwig called after him. "You cannot give up so quickly! Learning this is absolutely essential!"

Jr. ignored him and kept walking down the hall, not wanting to accept any more help from his siblings.

However, Larry soon caught up with him. "Hey now, not so fast! Ludwig's boring lessons may not help you, but I definitely can!"

Jr. was actually intrigued by this comment. So far, his siblings had only contributed ideas that were similar to their interests. Larry, though loud, humorous, and most likely the friendliest of the Koopalings, was actually quite secretive. He was very perplexing, since he never really let anyone in on what his passions were or what hobbies he enjoyed. But his sociable personality masked his mystery, causing one to overlook this abnormality unless they thought hard about it and saw through his disguise. Therefore, Jr. was extremely curious as to what Larry would do to help, since it must have something to do with what he liked.

He thought over it for a moment before saying, "Fine, whatever. But it better be worth it."

Larry nodded and smiled, leading Jr. to his room. The other Koopalings, equally curious, followed.

When they reached the door to his room, he opened it and signaled for Jr. to enter. He did, but as the others attempted to follow him, Larry thrust his arm out.

"No, no, no. This is only for Jr. to witness."

Without another word, he followed his little brother into the room and shut the door behind him. The Koopalings exchanged brief glances before shoving their ears against the door, hoping to catch what Larry was saying.

"What's he saying?" Lemmy asked. The others shushed him, straining to listen.

They heard his voice on the other side, but the words were impossible to decipher. They waited for a long while, but jumped away when they heard footsteps approaching the door again. It opened and the two brothers walked out, Jr. writing notes furiously in his coloring book, Larry with a smile on his face.

"So, what did you tell him?" Roy asked.

Larry's smile grew wider, and he leaned on the wall. "Oh, nothing you need to know. That's between me and my favorite little bro. Isn't that right, Jr.?"

Jr. only grunted in response. When he turned to walk down the hall once more, Wendy could have sworn she saw the words...No! Impossible! She had imagined it. Larry couldn't have possibly told Jr. about THAT. Or...did he?

"So, since everyone but Morton has helped out, I must ask; what do you have planned to teach our brother, Morton?" Ludwig asked.

Morton looked surprised, then smile sheepishly and scratched his head. "Oh, um...I haven't been paying attention. What are we doing, again?"

The others sighed and facepalmed in unison. Then Roy spoke up. "Whatever, he doesn't need any more help. With all of our ideas, Jr.'s got this in the bag!"

So it was decided that Jr. would incorporate his siblings' ideas into his date. He would bring her chocolates at their meeting time, buy Sam whatever she wanted (made possible by use of their father's credit card. Obviously, they had completely forgotten about the trouble that had arisen the previous time they had used it.), take her to a fine restaurant, and wear a black tuxedo at the restaurant. As for Larry's idea, he simply snickered, "If the opportunity pops up, take it. Never know if you'll ever get a chance like that again!"

"My, look at the time!" Ludwig exclaimed, pointing to the wall clock. "It's getting late. Let us rest so that we may see Jr. off bright and early in the morning.

"Whoa, you can read that thing?" Roy said, genuinely impressed. The only type of clock he could read was a digital one.

"Yes, Roy. It is quite easy if you only took the time to learn."

"Nah, seems pointless. I'll stick to easy clocks, thank you very much."

The voices of his siblings faded as they walked down the hall to their own rooms, leaving Jr. standing alone in front of his own. He flipped through his notes and sighed, then entered his room and climbed into bed. He didn't really think that all of this was necessary. Really, all he wanted to do was to take Sam to the park and walk with her. They wouldn't do anything special, just talk, and get to know each other a little better.

But what did he know. This was his first date, and he was sure that his older brothers and sister knew more about such things than he did.

Jr. pulled the covers up to his nose and stared at the dark ceiling. Sam's image flashed through his mind again, sending his heart on an adrenaline fueled roller coaster ride. It made no sense. How could simply thinking about her make him feel so light, so free, so...happy?

Jr. didn't have a clear idea of what was happening to him, but there was only one thing he could link it to. Jr. was displaying all of the symptoms one usually describes when they are affected by this word.

He was experiencing love.


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, it's been a while since I've updated this, but here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

**Young Love**

Just as Jr. feared, the sun rose and the morning arrived, bringing with it a new day and rousing him from his restless slumber to go forth and face his challenge.

The young Koopaling stumbled downstairs to find his siblings in the kitchen, Wendy cooking breakfast.

"And here he is, now!" Ludwig exclaimed at the sight of him. "I hope you rested well, brother. Today is the big day, and you must be ready."

Jr. nodded glumly, his mind still weary with lack of sleep, and his mood far from excited.

"I'm sure all that we taught him will be put to use, eh?" Roy nudged his younger brother. Jr. just sat at the table, rested his head on his hand, and sighed.

Larry stared at him, concerned. Then he rose from his position at the table and rested his arm on his brother's shoulder, giving him a cheerful smile.

"Hey, cheer up! It's your first date! And though the circumstances may be a bit different than that of usual dates, I'm sure you'll do well! So get out there and show that girl a good time!"

Jr. gave him a genuine smile. Larry had seemed to know that Jr. really wanted to impress Sam. While his other siblings were really only helping out of boredom, Larry seemed to be supporting Jr. 100%.

"Thanks Larry." he said, then turned to his siblings. "Thanks, all of you. I really appreciate your help."

The seven Koopalings were stunned. It wasn't a common occurrence for Jr. to thank someone. This must be very important to him.

"Uh, no problem, man." Morton said, still clueless as to what was happening.

After a light breakfast of eggs and bacon, Jr. was ready to face his challenge. He stood by the front doors with everything he would need, and waited as his siblings wished him luck, one by one.

"Oh, good luck, Jr.!" Wendy squealed and ruffled his hair. "Make sure to wear the suit!"

He nodded and Wendy stepped out of the way, Roy taking her place.

"Go get her, kid!" he roared and held him in a head lock, giving his little brother one of his notorious noogies. "And remember: buy her anything she wants. The more expensive, the better."

Jr. nodded, gripping his father's credit card firmly in his palm.

Now it was Lemmy's turn.

He approached Jr. and thrust a heart shaped box into his hands. There was a shuffling sound that came from it, signaling that it was full of chocolates. Lemmy giggled and toppled backwards, staring at his younger brother as he stood on his head. "Candy is all you need! Girls love candy!"

Jr. nodded and thanked him for his contribution.

Ludwig stepped in front of him and looked down at him as if he was inspecting a peculiar animal in a zoo, wondering if he should let it go.

"Jr.," he said in a formal tone. "I believe you are ready for your first date. Your siblings and I have prepared you to the best of our ability with the limited time we were provided, and though not all of us saw eye to eye..." he glared at Roy at this point. "...I believe we have still managed to help you, and our advice and contributions will no doubt aid you greatly in this trial. It is my firm belief the you will excel, and-"

"Geez, can this nut blab!" Iggy interrupted, not taking his eyes off of the metal box that he was tapping with an electric rod. "Just shuddup, will ya!? And as for you, Juny-yore, just make sure you take her to the amusement park. And ride the ferris wheel."

Wendy glanced at him suspiciously. "And why would you want them to go there, exactly?"

"'Cuz chicks dig stupid things like ferris wheels. Apparently they're romantic, or something, I don't know. All I see is a stupid wheel spinning slowly. They need to speed that thing up, in my opinion. And add more sulfuric acid."

Wendy rolled her eyes, but said nothing else. Iggy always said ridiculous, crazy things, but they all just accepted them without arguing. Why? Because he's Iggy.

Larry said nothing to Jr., just smiled and nodded assuringly.

Morton, still confused, but not really caring, held his fist out to his little brother and said, "Get out there and pwn some newbs, bro."

Jr. grinned, pounding his fist against his brother's.

With that, Jr. pushed the front doors of Bowser Castle open and trotted down the path, a nervous feeling growing with each step.

"Ah, how beautiful." Wendy said emotionally, wiping a tear from her eye. Then she turned to her brother's, a devious expression on her face. "So, you guys wanna spy on him and see how he does?"

"You know it!" Roy responded, and they all ran off, Ludwig close on their heels, protesting such behavior. The only one left behind was Iggy, who was still working on some invention.

When he noticed that his siblings had left, he cackled and snorted, strolling away through the castle's halls and back to his lab, where he could finally finish his surprise in peace...

7Z7Z7Z7

Jr. scratched the back of his head as he approached the playground, the sweets still tucked under one arm. He was extremely nervous. How couldn't he be? He was about to try to impress a girl he liked, without even knowing her too well.

As he walked through the spiky gates, he wondered if it would be the last time he saw them decorated in such a fashion. If Sam won, he would lose the playground.

But that didn't matter to him anymore. If she won, he would also lose any chance of her liking him back.

He convinced himself that if he was able to win the challenge and genuinely impress Sam, there might be some shred of possibility of her actually liking him.

When Jr. reached the tower, he wondered whether he should just turn back and forfeit, sparing himself of any embarrassment. But when Sam spotted him and waved him over, he had no choice but to approach. He drew a shaky breath, willing his hyperactive heart to stop beating so quickly, and walked towards her.

"I didn't actually think you'd show up." Sam crossed her arms. She looked the same as she did yesterday, except now her eyes were even more cold and businesslike, not showing any hint of what emotions she was feeling as she studied him.

"U-um...I got these for you..." Jr.'s eyes were downcast as he handed the girl the box of chocolates.

She looked over them for a moment before saying, "I'm sorry, but I don't eat sweets. They're very unhealthy, and I try to keep myself fixed on a regular diet." Her apology didn't seem genuine. She said it with the same expressionless, serious face that she had worn since he had met her, and her voice was monotone and flat.

"Oh..." Jr. muttered, silently cursing himself. Of course she wouldn't like sweets! He should have known that.

"Now, if you would be so kind as to accompany me, I already have somewhere planned for us to go."

Jr. looked up, and wished he hadn't. His heart was torn as he stared into her blue eyes, eyes that made him feel stupid and a million times happier at the same time.

Finally, he responded. "Uh, sure. Where are we going?"

"You'll see." She led the way out of the playground, and Jr. walked alongside her, staring at the ground in silent awkwardness.

'Come on, Jr.' an inner voice told him. 'Be a man! Talk to her! Ask the lady a question!'

"So, why is your name Sam?" he asked, trying to start up a conversation as they walked down the street. "I mean, that's a boy's name, right? Seems sort of weird that your parents would call you that."

"It's short for Samantha." she said, not looking him in the eyes. "My father used to call me Sam all the time before he died, so I adopted the nickname."

"Oh." was all he managed to utter. He went back to staring at the ground, mentally bashing himself and chanting 'Stupid, stupid, stupid' repeatedly.

'Yeah, maybe you should just stay quiet...' his inner voice said in an embarrassed way.

7Z7Z7Z7

When they reached their destination, Jr. was a bit surprised.

He had expected a girl as formal as her to take him to some sort of refined restaurant or art museum first. He hadn't expected a visit to the local arcade.

As if she had read his thoughts, she explained. "The rules were that one of us would win if we impressed the other. I'll admit that I don't know that much about you, but I thought that something like this might appeal to you."

She said the word 'this' like she was talking about something detestable and vile. Jr. was able to guess what she meant by that.

"Are you insulting me by assuming that I would like going to an arcade?"

"Well, I wouldn't say I'm insulting you, or assuming. I'm merely making an educated guess based upon the behavior and activities that boys of your age group are fond of. While I wouldn't approve of something as mindless and worthless as playing a video game, I thought that you might find such a thing entertaining."

Jr. stared at her with stone cold eyes, and for a moment, Sam couldn't tell what he was feeling or thinking. Her normally sharp, analytical eyes were failing her, as if Jr.'s stare was rendering them useless.

But as quickly as it had started, the moment passed, and Jr. flashed her a huge grin. "Well, you're right! Video games, here I come!"

She sighed involuntarily. She had him here, but now what was she supposed to do? She had spent all night researching arcades and video games, but it was still so perplexing and strange to her. How could something so uninteresting and worthless possibly elicit so much joy from some people?

She shook her head as she followed her date into the building. 'I'll never understand the minds of simpletons.'

It was worse inside than she had expected.

Her first thought was that the place was loud. Very loud. Electronic beeps and buzzes blared from the machines, and the different games each rang out their annoyingly catchy tunes and sounds as if they were all competing to be the noisiest thing in the room.

Bright neon lights trailed in lines around the arcade, making Sam think of brightly colored pink and green snakes slithering in zigzagging patterns around the room. Kids of all ages ran amok. Sam was surprised that they didn't seem to be fighting over the different games or shoving each other out of the way to get to their next gaming destination. It wasn't orderly, but they all seemed to flow around one another, like a crowded school hallway.

She spotted Jr. waiting for her by a burly Whomp covered from head to toe in tattoos, and, reluctantly, she joined him.

"I actually come to this place quite often." Jr. nodded at the Whomp. "So I know Timmy here pretty well. He can totally hook us up with a free card!"

Sam was confused by his mention of a card. She had read that arcades use special coins. But she was even more confused when Jr. had said the Whomp's name.

"Your name is...Timmy?"

He leaned over her and glared down at her, his face frozen in a perpetual scowl. "Yeah. You gots a problem wit dat?"

His deep voice seemed to rumble over her, and she refrained from asking any more questions. "Oh, of course not."

The Whomp stood up straight once more, beaming. "Good! Now dat dat's settled, let's get you two lovebirds to da games, eh?"

The two children shifted their weight nervously and avoided each others's gaze at the mention of the word 'lovebirds'. It was considered a date, but for one of them, it was just business, and for the other, a chance to discover love.

Timmy led them through the masses of children and stopped near the center of the arcade. He gave Jr. some kind of card and left.

The two stood alone in the center of the arcade, Sam confused and regretting her decision to visit the place, and Jr. wild-eyed, his head whipping back and forth, trying to decide what game to play first.

Sam nervously scratched her head. "So, what should we play fir-"

"That one!" Jr. pointed a finger in some random direction. Before Sam had a chance to even glance at what he had referred to, she was being dragged away by the little Koopaling.

When they finally came to a stop, Sam stared at the machine they had stopped by.

It was some sort of zombie shooting game. 'Mansion of Malice' flashed across the screen and the high pitched shriek of a woman pierced their ears. The next words that popped up told them to swipe the card once for a single player game, and twice for two players.

Jr. swiped the card twice and the game started up. As two characters toting guns ran across the screen, Jr. picked up a fake gun attached to the machine.

He glanced at Sam, seeing that she hadn't taken her weapon yet. "What are you doing? Come on, we've got zombies to kill!"

Sam shrugged and took the second gun. It was surprisingly heavy, but she did her best to aim it at the screen.

A countdown appeared on the screen, and when it finished, the game started.

Instantly, zombies leaped out of every crevice and started making their way towards the screen. Jr. sprang into action. Every time he pulled the trigger, green goo would fly out of the head of whatever unfortunate flesh eater he had aimed at, and they would fall to the floor. He seemed to know exactly when and where to aim, only needing one shot to kill the monsters.

Sam was a different story. She constantly missed, had trouble holding the gun up, and constantly had to swipe the card again for another chance whenever her character died.

Despite her failures, Sam was actually having...fun. Although she didn't admit it, and tried her hardest to hide it, she was genuinely enjoying herself.

She glanced to her right, and quickly turned away, cursing under her breath.

He was doing it again. Smiling like a goofball with that joyful shine in his eyes. During their time playing the game she had tried to avoid looking at him. She didn't want to shoot him down, telling him that he had lost when he looked so happy. And there was a small part of her, a part that she didn't recognize yet, far back in her mind, in her heart, that wanted him to be that way.

Jr., in contrast, would glance at Sam and smile even wider. She would be frowning and struggling, but he felt happy just to be there with her, to be doing something he liked with her. He couldn't ask for much more than that.

Finally, when they (Jr.) had beat the game, the two found that quite a bit of time had passed.

"So..." Jr. asked as they exited the building. "What should we do now?"

"It's your call. I had my turn, now it's yours." Sam replied, rubbing the sore muscles in her arms.

Jr. hastily thought about where they should go next. He was interrupted by a growling from his stomach.

"Oh, uh, I guess we can go eat somewhere?" Jr. suggested.

Sam nodded and Jr. led the way, nervous as to what would happen, what she would think of him.

7Z7Z7Z7

"Hey, quit shoving!"

"YOU quit shoving!"

"Ow, you elbowed my ribs!"

"Get your butt outta my face!"

"Gross, Lemmy farted!"

"Shut up, all of you!"

Wendy smacked her brothers, trying to get them to shut up.

They were crowded in a tiny bush, stalking Jr. and Sam.

So far, the two hadn't noticed, but those who passed by found it odd to see a bush suddenly spring up, walk forward a few feet on six pairs of legs, and settle back down, angry mutters and hisses emanating from it as six Koopalings complained about how another was stepping on their feet or poking each other's ribs.

"Why exactly are we doing this, again?" a clueless Morton asked.

"Because," Larry sighed frustratedly. "We've gotta see how their date turns out. Don't you want to see how what you taught our little brother helps him?"

"Riiiight...uh, what did I teach him again?"

"How do be a clueless fool." Ludwig facepalmed. He turned to his sister. "Really, this is not a good idea. We'll get caught!"

"Not with this disguise." she replied defensively.

As if on cue, a Lakitu floated by. His cloud made a contorted face, then inhaled three times. It finally let out a great sneeze, blowing away the bush and revealing the Koopalings.

"Gah! We're exposed!" Lemmy shouted, covering himself with his hands.

"Quick! To the KoopaCave!" Larry yelled. He proceeded to run to the nearest Port-A-Potty, throw open the door, and dive in. Lemmy and Morton followed. However, with three Koopalings all crowded in one small space, the tiny bathroom toppled over.

"Gah! The KoopaCave is flooded!" came Larry's muffled voice.

Wendy and Ludwig facepalmed while Roy made his way to the toppled bathroom, exclaiming that if they found some wheels, they could convert it into a KoopaMobile.

"Yes, that was an incredible disguise." Ludwig said sarcastically. "It's a miracle that they haven't noticed us yet! What do you suppose we do now?"

"Oh, I have some ideas..." Wendy smiled mischievously, holding a pair of shopping bags. "How good are you at speaking with a German accent?"


	3. Chapter 3

Young Love

Bowser Jr. was unsure what to do now. It was his choice as to where to go, but he had no idea where they should go eat. What kind of food did Sam like? Would she expect him to take her somewhere fancy?  
Before he had time to consider any of these things, he felt a hand clutch his arm and yank him to the right. He let out a slight yelp of surprise as he landed on his side on a hard wooden floor.  
He looked up to find himself in some small restaurant. It was decorated like a typical café. Nobody was inside...except for two oddly dressed people who he assumed had pulled him inside.  
One was small and the other was a bit taller, but they were both wearing the same outfit. The two oddballs donned lederhosen and tiny, square mustaches just above their mouths. They wore little green hats with feathers in them and both were hopping about, performing a little jig.  
Sam walked in and stopped beside Jr., sharing his bewildered expression.  
"Hallo! Ich bin Schnitzel!" the smaller figure said in a thick German accent.  
"Und ich bin Fritz!" the taller one said, his accent equally as thick. "Velcome to Café Katze Kekse! Ve vill be your servers today! May ve offer you a seat?"  
"Uh..." Jr. began, but was forcefully shoved into a chair by Fritz, Sam seated across from him by Schnitzel.  
"Here are your menus!" Schnitzel cried, tossing two sheets of paper in front of the couple. Jr. read the only two items on the list. 'Nuddelsuppe' and 'Wurst'.  
"Uh, this is all you have on the menu?" Jr. asked, still trying to make sense of what was happening.  
"Ja! Ve vill give you time to decide." With that, the pair left, retreating into the kitchen.  
"There's only two items! I can decide now!" Jr. called after them. He felt Sam place a hand on his shoulder and he glanced at her.  
"It's fine, Jr. I think it would be fun to eat here. The staff seems very...eccentric, so it'll be exciting, won't it?"  
The slight smile she gave him sent his heart fluttering and he returned it with a dopey grin that he knew made him look stupid, but he didn't care about at the time.  
Meanwhile, Sam was experiencing nervousness as well. She had made an effort to loosen up, and she hoped that Jr. was noticing. She feared that she had made a bad impression on him, causing him to think of her only as a stick-in-the-mud type. But why did she want his opinion of her to be positive? It didn't really affect the contest, so why did she feel this way? It was almost as if...no, it couldn't be that!  
As the young couple sat in silence, each absorbed in their own worries about the other's views of them, there was a ruckus in the kitchen.  
"Fritz!" Lemmy called out to Larry. "Ve got a big problem!"  
"Vat is it, Schnitzel?"  
"Ve have no Wurst!"  
"Vell that is a problem, considering ve have no Nuddelsuppe either."  
"So ein Mist! Vat should ve do?"  
As the two conversed, Ludwig and Wendy looked on, the former with his palm over his face.  
"This is INCREDIBLY offensive..."  
"Oh, whatever." Wendy said. "It helped get those two in here, so now we can make sure that their date goes smoothly under our watch."  
Roy then burst into the kitchen wearing a chef's uniform and bushy mustache.  
"Ey! How's it-a going? We a-gotta the pasta for the-a love-a-birds?"  
"Roy!" Lemmy yelled. "Ve're doing a German theme, not Italian!"  
"Hey! That's-a Paulo to you!"  
"Ve don't care! Now put on your lederhosen! Ve're going to do a dance for the lovely couple!"  
"Nein! Ve still need to find some food for them!"  
"I say we-a make some pasta!"  
"Again," Ludwig groaned. "incredibly offensive. I want no part in this."  
Wendy sighed and strolled out the back door as her brothers argued. She came back a few minutes later holding a bag with a fast food logo on it.  
"Here!" she said. "Just give them this."  
"But this isn't German. It von't vork!" Larry replied.  
"Your face won't work if you guys keep holding this date up! Now get a move on!"  
Wendy shoved her two brothers out into the main room and they stumbled for a moment before regaining their balance and tottering over to Sam and Jr.  
"Here you are!" 'Fritz' said. "German cuisine!"  
Sam looked at the burger in front of her skeptically. "Um, I don't believe this is particularly German..."  
'Schnitzel' seized the burger and shoved it into her mouth, 'Fritz' doing the same to Jr. "No, no, no! This is fine German food! Now eat up and enjoy, ja?"  
With that, the two left the couple, Jr. chewing his food happily, pleased that he didn't have to eat real German food (he was quite the picky eater).  
"Hey, this isn't so bad, huh?" Jr. said when he had finished his mouthful. Sam, on the other hand, had to force herself to swallow what was in her mouth.  
"Ugh! How can you eat this garbage? It's utterly repulsive and extremely unhealthy!"  
"What? I think it tastes good."  
"That's not very surprising..."  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
"Nothing, nothing. It's just that you seem like the type to enjoy rubbish like this."  
"Ok, even I know that's an insult!"  
"Maybe it is."  
Jr. slammed his hands onto the table and leaned forward, glaring Sam down. "You know what? You're acting like a real snob!"  
She leaned forward as well, nose to nose with the young Koopaling. Her voice was steadily rising. "At least I'm more adult than you. Playing video games? Eating junk food? You're such a child!"  
"And you're a stick in the mud! Too good for chocolate? Treating everyone with such a cold, business-like manner? Who do you think you are, the president of No Fun Land?"  
"You shut up! You don't know anything about me!"  
"And you don't know anything about ME!"  
"Go jump off a bridge!"  
"Ladies first!"  
As they argued, the other Koopalings peeked over the counter, watching them.  
"Das ist nicht gut." Larry moaned. "Ve've only made things vorse!"  
"Would you drop the stereotypical accents already?" Ludwig sighed in frustration. He had known that this plan was going to fail and had refused to be a part of it. However, his brothers were getting on his last nerve.  
Wendy tapped her head thoughtfully. She wondered how things had gotten so sour so quickly. A moment ago they had been fine, and now they were at each other's throats!  
She sighed and sat back, rubbing her temples as the Toad who was bound and gagged in a cocoon of duct tape squirmed and yelled for help in muffled cries.  
"Roy, I thought I told you to throw the store owner out in the dumpster?"  
Roy shrugged, stroking his 'stache in a villainous manner. "What, I thought wrapping him up nice and good was enough. After all, we only needed to jack his store for a little bit. No need to toss him out when we're only gonna be here for a bit."  
"Just do it! I'm in a bad mood and need to take it out on someone! Unless you want it to be you."  
Roy shrugged and did as he was told, hauling the unfortunate shop keeper over his shoulder and taking him out the back exit.  
Once the yelling had taken a pause and the couple resorted to glaring daggers at each other, Lemmy and Larry dashed back out, hoping that there was still a chance to set things right.  
"Hey! How about some dessert?" Schnitzel suggested.  
"Ja, ja! Ve have many...er, two...selections that are quite vunderbar!"  
"NO! GO AWAY!" the two yelled at their servers in unison.  
Lemmy and Larry backed off, scuttling back to the kitchen as fast as they could.  
"Look," Sam fumed. "Let's just get the rest of this date over with. Since I don't like you, and you obviously don't like me, we'll just finish this and never see each other again, agreed?"  
Her words stung him far worse than any of her insults, and he felt his heart sink. She had admitted to hating him. This was the exact opposite of what he had wanted to happen. He had caused this. If only he had accepted her opinions, not argued...  
No, it didn't matter now. Even though he felt a heavy weight on his chest, he swallowed hard and nodded, hoping that he could spark that brief flame of hate once more, just long enough to finish the date so that he could leave and she couldn't see how much she had truly hurt him.  
"Agreed."  
After that, the two exited the building, both too absorbed in their emotions to remember about the food they hadn't paid for.  
"Hey, vait up!" Larry called after them. "You didn't-ah forget it. What's the point? Everything's ruined now."  
His brothers sat down with him at the nearest table and they all participated in a resounding, resigned sigh.  
Wendy wanted to pep them up, convince them that there was still hope for the couple, but even she felt a little hopeless. After such a heated argument like that, how could they possibly fix things?  
She joined her brothers, her head collapsing and smacking onto the table. "You guys are right. It's too late to help now. Game over."  
Suddenly, the front doors burst open, and they gasped at who they saw there.  
"Not quite." Iggy smirked, adjusting his glasses. "I wouldn't give up yet if I were you. Now, follow me if you wish to save the love of those two youngsters!"

**Yeah, sort of a short chapter, but it had a lot of humor packed into it! Please review and tell me if you liked it!**

**P.S. Sorry to any of you German or Italian folk out there. No offense intended!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Well, this is the last chapter. Sorry for it being so short and for the late update, but from the reviews I got, you guys seem to like this! So thanks very much, and enjoy the chapter!**

**Young Love**

Jr. and Sam walked in silence. Jr. wanted to apologize to Sam, to tell her how he had been stupid and shouldn't have insulted her like that. However, his pride wouldn't allow him. There was no way he would bring himself to apologize to her, to show that she had won. He took a deep breath and folded his arms, making sure not to look at her.  
Sam was in a similar predicament. She felt that she had been too harsh with Jr. He had been having a good time before she ruined everything by starting a stupid argument. And...she was having a good time too. So why did she do that? Why did she start that useless, pointless conflict? Could it have been that she was trying to...hide her feelings for him?  
She sighed in frustration. For a moment, the action captured Jr.'s interest and he glanced at her in concern. However, he quickly remembered how peeved he was and turned away.  
Sam sighed again, now only wanting to get this date over with. "How about we go there?" she suggested, pointing in a random direction, not really caring about where they went anymore.  
Jr. looked at what she was pointing at and nodded, a faint sparkle of happiness shining in his eyes for a moment. He led the way and Sam followed, her heart sinking as she saw what she had pointed to.  
An amusement park. It was most likely the last place she would have wanted to go. It was loud, crowded, and too out of her element for her. Nevertheless, she braced herself and followed Jr.

7Z7Z7Z7

Iggy motioned for his brothers (still clad in their odd outfits) and his sister to follow him away from the wall they had ducked behind in order to remain undetected from Jr. and Sam.  
"An amusement park?" Larry asked. "Wonder why they went there."  
Iggy cackled. "Who cares? Now I can make sure my plan is put into action!"  
"Plan?" Wendy asked. "What plan?"  
Her insane brother cackled once more and patted her head, his hand quickly swatted away. "Oh, dear sister, you'll see in due time."  
Roy snorted, folding his arms. "Ha! If it's like any of your previous plans, it'll fall right through pretty quickly."  
"Oh ye of little faith," Iggy sighed. "If only you could see what my devious little mind is planning. Then you'd know that it is truly the most effective way of helping our brother!"  
"I'd rather not see what happens up there, thank you very much." Ludwig said, tapping his claw against Iggy's skull. "I'm sure that whatever you think about is enough to put anyone in an insane asylum."  
Iggy burst into a fit of snorts and giggles, taking Ludwig's comment as a compliment. The others rolled their eyes and paid for their tickets at the counter. Once they were in, they located the couple they were stalking and tried their best to blend in with the crowd. Needless to say, it wasn't very easy.  
"Fritz, look vhat I can do!" Lemmy shouted, returning to his former persona. He leaped into the air and bounded off of people's heads, using them as stepping stones to reach a cotton candy stand and swipe a clump.  
Larry, Iggy, and Morton laughed and Roy attempted to imitate the stunt, only to fall flat on his face on his first jump. Wendy growled and grabbed her brothers, pulling them away. Ludwig scooped up Lemmy and dove out of sight just as Jr. and Sam turned to see what all the commotion was.  
After they had continued on their way, the Koopalings emerged from their cover.  
"Enough of this nonsense!" Ludwig scolded. "We cannot allow ourselves to be caught because of your incompetence."  
"Yeah, Lud is right!" Morton agreed, unaware that his voice was rising. "I mean, we're supposed to be stealthy! IF YOU GUYS KEEP MESSING AROUND, WE'LL GET CAUGHT!"  
Morton's yelling attracted the attention of many people, and Ludwig was forced to bop him on the head.  
"Keep your voice down, big mouth."  
Morton smiled sheepishly and the group of Koopalings continued on, none but the two sane ones actually trying to stay undercover.

7Z7Z7Z7

Jr. was close to breaking. Throughout the couple's entire experience in the park, Sam remained silent and never even glanced at Jr. He felt as if everything was his fault and felt obligated to apologize, but his pride prevented the words from being formed. So the two walked through the amusement park in silence, only boarding a ride every so often.  
Jr. sighed as he spotted the sun setting on the horizon. The park would close soon, a winner of the contest would be decided, and his chance would slip by him. One way or another, whether he won or not, he would never see Sam again. Unless he told her how he felt.  
He glanced up to see a ferris wheel before him. An idea formed in his head.  
He grabbed Sam's arm and pointed to the ride. "Let's go on that one." She nearly pulled away at his touch, but when she saw what he was referring to, she nodded and led the way to the ride.  
Once they were on and they felt themselves rise in a slow circular motion, Jr. racked his brain, thinking about the best way to tell her how he felt.  
Sam was sitting across from him, her elbow rested on the small ledge underneath the window, her head held in her palm. The sun glowed and painted her face in a golden light, highlighting her facial features. Her eyes had a wistful quality to them, as if she was staring for miles away, almost as if she were trying to catch a glimpse of the past.  
Jr. realized how little he actually knew about Sam. Other than what he'd seen on the date, he really didn't know anything about her. Then, he wondered, how had he been so attracted to her? Was it just her looks? Or something else?  
As he pondered this, Sam turned to him, still wearing the same cold expression on her face, except for her eyes, which had a faint appearance of sadness to them. "You're staring at me. Is there something you want to say?"  
Jr. quickly looked away, his face red hot. He looked out the window, staring at the tiny moving dots that were people. He could see a particular group seemingly causing a ruckus.  
"N-no! It's nothing." Sam went back to staring out the window, and Jr.'s heart sank. His gaze fell to his lap. He tightened his fists and took a deep breath. He was going to lose her if he didn't do something. It was now or never.  
"Actually..." Sam looked back at him. "I...do have something I want to tell you..."  
His heart was threatening to burst and he could feel a drop of sweat running down the back of his neck.  
"I-I want t-to tell you that...I..."

7Z7Z7Z7

"Great." Roy said. "They're on the ferris wheel. What do we do now?"  
"We put phase three of my plan into action!" Iggy cackled, withdrawing a remote control from his shell.  
"Iggy, what are you doing?" Wendy asked, already backing away in fear. Iggy only laughed some more and pushed the big red button on the device.  
Instantly, a loud whirr emanated from the ferris wheel. It began to spin faster and faster until it was completely out of control. It detached from its position and began rolling away, causing hundreds of people to scream and run for their lives, trying not to get crushed by the giant wheel.  
"Iggy, you fool!" Ludwig grabbed his brother's throat and throttled him. "What have you done!?"  
Iggy, despite being strangled by Ludwig, still managed a wicked grin. "I...made their date...more interesting..."  
Ludwig threw him to the ground, and in between hacking coughs and insane giggles, Iggy said, "Just trust me, I'm a master of love! She'll be scared, fall into his arms, somehow he rescues her, and next thing ya know, it's happily ever after! This'll totally work!"  
"Come on!" Wendy cried, grabbing her brothers and dragging them after the ferris wheel. "We need to stop that thing and help them!"

7Z7Z7Z7

"What's going on!?" Jr. yelled as the cart they were in began swinging wildly and descending at a rapid pace.  
Sam stumbled over to the window and looked out. "The ferris wheel detached from the base! It's rolling now! Hang onto something!"  
"Don't need to tell me twice!" Jr. said as he latched onto the seat, the only nearby thing he could think of holding onto. Sam gripped the edge of the cart tightly.  
Jr. and Sam were hanging on for their lives. They were tossed up and down and left and right until they could no longer tell which way they were being thrown.  
Jr. shut his eyes tight, too scared to even scream. Wind and the sound of banging metal and distant shrieks were all deafening in his ears, keeping him from even being able to think clearly.  
One scream, however, broke through the din. Immediately, he could tell it was Sam's voice, and he opened his eyes to see her hurtling straight through the window.  
"No!" Jr. lunged towards her and barely caught her arm. He looked past her frightened face to see the ground hundreds of feet below, steadily moving farther away as their position on the wheel climbed to the peak. He nearly threw up his lunch, something that would have only made matters worse for him considering it would have landed on Sam's face.  
Instead, he focused on her face, trying to distract his panicked mind from the immediate danger, and, in doing so, felt his heart being strangled. He was looking into the eyes of someone he knew he cared about, but they were wide with fear. He was staring at a face that made his heart beat with joy, but it was contorted in an expression of mortal terror. He was holding onto the hand of the girl who made his heart skip a beat whenever she so much as glanced at him, but it was clinging to his like he was a lifeline. It tore his heart in two to see these things. She was scared, suffering, and Jr. felt the same way that she did, simply by her feeling those things.  
He grit his teeth and furrowed his brow, struggling to pull her back up. He didn't want her to feel that way. He wanted her to be happy, to feel safe. He wanted the best for her.  
Jr. felt his arms aching, but he didn't give up. He managed to haul Sam back inside, falling over onto his back in the process.  
He panted and got back onto his feet. He saw Sam looking at him, and she said, "Th-thank you."  
He felt his cheeks grow hot. He looked away from her, rubbing his neck. "D-don't mention it..."  
The cart gave another big lurch and the two stumbled. Sam looked out the window, seeing that they were now descending closer to the ground.  
"Jr.," she said very seriously. "I have a plan. We can jump out of this safely, but we have to do it at a precise moment."  
Jr. was still trying to get over the feeling of the butterflies in his stomach. When he realized Sam was talking to him, he looked up. "Wh-whuh?"  
Sam pulled him closer to him and put her arm around his waist, her other hand clutching the handle on the door. Jr. felt his cheeks grow even hotter.  
Sam stared intently out the window, waiting for the right moment. The ground was getting closer, along with the screams of frightened people. "On my mark. One...two...three!"  
She flung open the door and leaped out, dragging Jr. with her. They hit the ground at a low elevation and tumbled over one another. Jr. felt dirt, grass, and a manner of different things fly into his mouth, but the impact from each time he struck the ground, first on his back, then his stomach, then his back again in an agonizing cycle, prevented him from being able to spit it out.  
Finally, Jr. slowed to a stop. He lay groaning on his belly, no doubt covered in scratches and bruises. After a few seconds of wallowing in pain, he opened his eyes.  
He could see the giant ferris wheel still rolling quite a distance away on his far left. But he didn't care about that now. All that mattered was that Sam was out of that death trap.  
Sam! He wildly looked around for her and tried to rise, but pain surged in his arms and legs. He hadn't noticed it before, but there was an excruciating pain in his limbs, a pain that wouldn't even allow him to move. He fell down again, striking his chin against the ground very hard.  
"Easy, there." he heard a voice tell him. "You might actually have some broken bones. You should stay still."  
He looked up to see Sam kneeling by him. She looked relatively all right, although she was covered in dirt, grass, and bruises like him.  
"B-broken bones?" Jr. asked, trying to ignore the pain gnawing at him in his limbs.  
Sam nodded. "You probably didn't notice, but when we jumped out, you seemed to take the initial impact. In fact, you ended up taking a lot of hits, shielding me. I don't know if you did it on purpose, but...thank you. And sorry! You must be in a lot of pain."  
"Yup. It...really hurts."  
"Then why are you smiling?"  
Jr. chuckled a bit, trying to hide his grin. He had ended up protecting Sam again, although he had also ended up messing his body up. But somehow...it felt worth it. And despite the pain, Jr. was happy.  
Jr. sighed, half in contentment and half in exhaustion. "Boy, some date this turned out to be, huh? Er, sorry, I mean, I guess it wasn't really a date, so-"  
Jr.'s eyes widened as he felt a warm pair of lips press against his cheek. His heart melted in ecstasy and his entire body suddenly felt a million times better. His own lips grew into a wide smile that refused to go away. But it's not like Jr. really cared at the moment. Even if he wanted to hide it, there was no way he could mask his joy.  
Sam pulled out of the kiss after a few seconds of pure bliss. She looked into Jr.'s eyes, her own now considerably less cold.  
"Jr.," she said softly. "Of course this was a date. Even though I didn't know it was at first, even though I wanted it only to be a challenge, a contest to win, I genuinely had a wonderful time. You ended up showing me, a cold, joyless girl, a good time in various activities that I thought I would have loathed. But most importantly, it was you yourself that made this day amazing. I slowly began to realize what a caring person you are, how fun it is to be around you. Every moment I was with you, from the start of the date to now, I only came to like you more and more. It didn't really matter what we did next. From playing video games to jumping out of a runaway ferris wheel, I wouldn't want to be with anyone other than you."  
Jr. blinked a couple of times, letting her words sink in so he would never forget them. He would have pinched himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming, but his aching body was proof enough.  
"You...you really like me?" he grinned.  
"Yes."  
"Wow...th-that's great! I...I really like you too!"  
The two smiled at each other, each feeling slightly embarrassed about how things had turned out, but also relieved and ecstatic that the other felt the same way.  
After a brief silence, Jr. asked, "So...does that mean there'll be a second date?"  
Sam laughed. "Of course. But first, we should get you to a hospital. Here, I'll carry you."  
Jr. was about to protest, but a new wave of agony silenced him. Reluctantly (and with a great deal of embarrassment), he allowed Sam to pick him up, bridal style, and carry him away.  
As she carried him, Sam half-joked, "By the way, since we're dating now, I should probably meet your family."  
Jr. groaned, the very mention of the idea more painful than his broken bones. "Ugh, you'll be better off if you DON'T meet those wackos, trust me."  
"Well, my family is pretty...eccentric as well." She looked down at him and smiled, sending his heart soaring. "Maybe we are good for each other after all."

7Z7Z7Z7

"Well, this was a strange turn of events." Larry scratched his head, he and his siblings watching the couple walk away, destruction in their wake.  
"Somehow I didn't picture it turning out like this, the princess carrying her knight in shining armor off into the sunset." Wendy commented.  
Iggy suddenly clapped his hands, a nervous smile creeping onto his face. "Well, that settles that, huh guys? Mission accomplished! Who wants coffee?"  
Iggy started to walk off, but Ludwig caught him by the hair. Growling, his older brother stated, "Oh, no you don't! You nearly got those two, and many other people, killed."  
"But I DIDN'T." Iggy pointed out.  
"Yes, but you still caused a lot of trouble. As punishment, you're to stop the ferris wheel from causing any further destruction and clean up this mess." The blue haired Koopaling gestured to the piles of rubble, toppled trees, and destroyed buildings. Then he turned to his other siblings. "As for the rest of us, we will head home and NOT CAUSE ANY MORE TROUBLE FOR ANYBODY. Understand?"  
They all nodded and followed Ludwig as he led them back to the castle.  
"Auf Wiedersehn!" Lenny called back to a sulking Iggy. "Good luck cleaning up all this stuff, Kartoffel-kopf!"  
Iggy sighed and picked up a chunk of rubble, placing it in a nearby trash can. "Ah, young love. Another thing to add to my 'Things that Ruined Iggy's Life' list."

**And so ends this little love story. I hope you liked it. Please leave a review, and thanks for reading!**

**-booMshrooM**


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